


DJ Subatomic Uses the Service Entrance

by mangneov



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon, Suggestive Themes, headcanons galore, like super pre canon, this is just something quick because I finished the game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26575816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangneov/pseuds/mangneov
Summary: DJ Subatomic has been making frequent trips to Barraca Mansion as of late. It's for purely work related reasons though, of course.(The title and the summary are dumb but I swear I wrote this seriously)
Relationships: 1010 & Neon J. (No Straight Roads), DJ Subatomic Supernova/Neon J.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 273





	DJ Subatomic Uses the Service Entrance

Barraca Mansion, and perhaps even Metro Division as a whole never fails to impress DJ Subatomic. To be fair, the current possessors of the charter haven't been around for long. Their Lights Up audition must've only been six or so months ago. And in a way that makes the development of Metro Division even more admirable. 

Though Subatomic isn't a fan of the more gimmicky stuff or the amusement park that seems to be sewn into the pedestrian street, the technological prowess is evident. 

He'd been sure to mention this to 1010's manager during their first proper meeting. Subatomic is a vain man; he's not afraid to admit it. And at the time the compliments had mostly been a ploy to gain the trust of and inside knowledge on his new coworker. 

Now, however, he finds himself glad he used such a warm introduction. 1010's manager (and essentially the brains behind the operation), Neon J and himself have gotten close in time. Real close. It only seemed natural. They have similar districts, similar ways of running things, and similar high opinions of themselves, admittedly. While Subatomic thinks J's way of doing things is overly flashy at times, he can't deny the man's managerial talent. And the district's stylish architecture comes from him, after all.

Currently he's at Barraca Mansion for a meeting with J. He's taken to coming in through the service entry to avoid any outside attention. They've created a pattern with these encounters by this point, which they'd both agreed wouldn't be a great look. Even if the meetings are for business, which they more often than not are, assumptions and accusations form and fly on nothing.

Subatomic opens the door (J unlocks it just before and after the dinner rush) and makes his way through the staff area. It's empty at the moment but he never meanders. The staff is a mixture of actual people and repurposed war robots, and Subatomic would hate to be in the middle of that frenzy.

When he enters the main hall he spots the boys chatting amicably amongst themselves. He's found he can't really maintain a long term conversation with any of them, but they trust him enough to let him in their home and he doesn't mind the small talk. 

Three, identifiable by his sunglasses, notices him first and waves stiffly.

"Hello, Mr. Supernova!" Five calls, seconds behind. The others are quick to face him.

"Hello, boys," Subatomic answers. "How are you all doing this evening?"

"Good, thank you," Five, Four, and One chirp in unison. Two offers a thumbs up and Three makes an 'ok' signal with his fingers.

"Are you here to see J?" One asks.

Subatomic nods. 

"Spot on. We've been working on a qwasa related project. I don't suppose you know where he is?"

"We're about to head out for a performance," Five says. "He should be down to see us off soon."

"Very well. I'll wait here then."

"What does your project entail, exactly?" Two pipes up. 

To Subatomic, he's the most identifiable of the group. Unlike his quintuplets, he's shaved the sides of his white hair down and combed it up higher. Beyond the physical difference, Subatomic thinks he has the most developed personality of the group so far: brasher and more opinionated. 

J had been excited about this development when it had first spawned. His hope for the boys was that they'd each gradually form unique styles. He'd been the same way when Three had started wearing the sunglasses. Subatomic had merely mentioned it and he'd raved about color coding and hairstyles (all for the benefit of NSR, of course, Sub) for close to an hour.

It had been admirable. It'd been charming.

"Something rather dry to you, I imagine," Subatomic answers, directing his attention back to Two. "We're discussing possible construction in our districts that may redirect sound better to the qwasa, and direct the produced energy back to us more effectively."

1010 nods in unison, like they perfectly understand.

"Sounds like an undertaking," One says.

"But it also sounds like something you could do by yourself," Two adds on.

"It is district specific..." Four trails off.

Subatomic shrugs, but he's suddenly suspicious. 

"Perhaps. However, as much I hate to admit it, my expertise lies in the technology of the sky, not that of the land. I'm not the only artist Neon J has collaborated in such a manner with." 

That last part is a total lie, but they don't know that.

"Oh, alright!" Five accepts. "Good luck, then."

"Yes," One agrees. "Good luck."

Subatomic is about to reply, anxiety slightly lowered, when the group is drawn to a noise from upstairs. J appears at the top of the central staircase. He quickly descends down, stowing his phone is his pocket as if just finishing a call. He's dressed in a very open collar button up and clearly a bit disheveled. 

Subatomic thinks he looks good.

"Hello, Supernova. Troops! I trust you've already said 'hello' to our guest?" J asks, one hand on his hip and the other pointing accusingly at his band. 

"Yes, J!" they answer, synchronous as ever.

"Good. In that case, we will likely be busy for awhile. I'm sure you boys will be out long after he leaves, but I want you to continue to be courteous otherwise."

"Right, J!"

J nods approvingly. Subatomic can't help but find the gesture delightful.

"Are you all ready to head out to the front lines? That good behavior extends outside of this household."

"We read the briefing," One confirms. 

If Subatomic wasn't already paying close attention, he probably wouldn't have noticed the subtle amusement in One's voice. J certainly doesn't seem to.

"Alright then. You're free to leave the house, troops. Be back before 0500 hours tomorrow. I need you all charged up before we install those new ankle joints."

"Yes, J!" they say one last time. Five tacks on an additional 'thank you, J' and then the group is heading excitedly out into the streets of Metro Division. Subatomic watches them go, wonders if he ever felt such buzz for nightlife when he was a teenager. He doesn't know what to think when he realizes he really didn't. 

"It's good to see you again, Sub," J says, quickly drawing his attention. Now that they're alone, he's gained the confidence to slide in close.

"And you, J," Subatomic echoes. He gently presses two fingers to J's neck and shoulder, who relaxes at the touch.

"Rough day?" he asks, increasing the pressure slightly. J sighs.

"The usual, I suppose. Tatiana always wants updates. I'm always too slow to bring them." He jabs a finger in Subatomic's chest. "And it's you I have to blame."

Subatomic chuckles. "And yet, here I am, invited once again into your home."

J's sonar stutters in a mock eye roll.

"I'm my own worst enemy, can hardly trust myself to make the right decisions."

"I wouldn't say that. That upgrade you promised to show me sounded like it had potential." He accompanies this with a slow smoothing of his hand down J's arm. 

"Worst enemy," J repeats, drawing closer. "We have actual work to do, Subatomic."

"I thought this meeting was specifically to test that out?"

"Afterwards," J insists, pulling away before Subatomic can get close enough to clink their 'heads' together. "I promised and I promise afterwards."

"I'm holding you to it," Subatomic says, drawing his hand away. J begins to lead them back up the stairs, and Subatomic grabs his attention with a hand on his back. "Though I did want to mention; we may want to start spacing these meetings out more."

"Why?" J asks, immediately worried. Subatomic holds up a hand reassuringly.

"I just think the boys may be on to us. I'm not completely sure, but some of our dialogue was more implicative than usual."

J sighs, but it sounds like relief.

"I'm sorry, Sub. They're still very curious right now, and you've been a point of interest lately. I should have realized. I don't like the idea of seeing you less, but I'm not sure if it's the right time to tell them."

Right. The two of them still aren't a hundred percent sure on what they are.

"It's no problem," Subatomic says. "We just work on our subtlety, draw out the time in-between my visits."

J laughs quietly. Subatomic still hasn't quite gotten used to the sound. It urges him to sweep the other man off his feet right then and there.

"Yes, our subtlety," J says coyly.

"We'll be masters of it no time," Subatomic assures him. "In the meantime, I'm already here and your troops aren't here to scrutinize us right now, so..."

J laughs again and pulls him into his office by his arm.

**Author's Note:**

> Note about 1010: I like to think they've changed a lot since their Lights Up audition. For context, White it like the base model and they all look similarly to him in this fic, albeit less detailed and cleaned up. They've all got numbers on their arms identifying them, too. White is One, Red is Two, Blue is Three, Yellow is Four, and Green is Five. Though this is a DJ/Neon J fic its primary purpose was to write about this headcanon lol
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Grammar corrections are encouraged!
> 
> Edit: Looking back at this, some of my headcanons on NSR's past are slightly different and stuff here doesn't match up perfectly anymore. I'm not going to rewrite it because I think it still has merit, but just know an author's vision is subject to change over time and there may be incosistencies with this and my future works :)


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